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Villa Belle Époque, Maadi

Sadly the staff and service are not up to the standard I expect from a boutique hotel taking the price into consideration

Posted on: October 3, 2010 at 10:42AM

By Guest
Posts:1

Despite reading rave reviews about this small out of town Boutique Hotel our stay there was very disappointing. Lately, on our travels we have been seeking out small hotels and are prepared give up some of the advantages of a central hotel in order to enjoy the extra service these small hotels offer. On arrival at reception, the very first demand was that we pay for the transfer from the Airport. This, before we even sat down. We assumed this could be added to our bill. So far, in Egypt, every single one of the Hotels or the two boats we sailed on, offered us a refreshing welcome drink while we completed the registration, but in the case of Villa Belle Epoque, not even a glass of water.
The first night we decided to have dinner at the hotel. Arriving in the dining room at 8.30 there was no-one there and assumed that we were too late for dinner, there was no-one at Reception either. We were just about to go out, when another couple came from outside obviously for dinner so we waited until a member of staff turned up. The staff were surly, not as much as a smile from any of the waiting staff the whole 3 days we were there. No-one there at breakfast either and we had to search for someone each morning to serve coffee and the last day even worse, they had not even bothered to make coffee or tea. Breakfast was very boring and not to the standard we had previously experienced.
Having said that, the kitchen turns out excellent food for dinner and lunch.
What should have been a really nice experience was spoiled by the lack of service and a mean attitude. Even to the point where we were charged for the water in the room. Considering every hotel and ship in our two weeks travelling had provided 2 bottles of complimentary water daily as a nice gesture. We cruised Lake Nasser on Kasr Ibrim which is part of the same company where the service and food were first class, therefore this was a bitter disappointment.
If Villa Belle Epoque hopes to compete with other Hotels they will have to provide those little extras. We could have stayed at a 5 Star Hotel in Cairo for less and enjoyed the advantage of not being a 40 minute taxi ride out to the suburbs.